The Trouble With Eavesdropping
by moonbabyscoot
Summary: Marinette overhears Adrien talking to Nino in the hall at school, and her world crumbles. But she didn't hear the whole story.
1. Chapter 1

probly shouldnt be starting another story, but...this idea just came to me

xo moonbaby

...

Marinette was walking down the hallway after class when she heard Adrien's voice around the corner. Her stomach clutched and fluttered, as per usual, and she stopped to fix her bangs before continuing on. _Maybe this time I can say hi like a normal person.._ she hoped.

Adrien was carefully choosing books from his locker, while Nino leaned against the wall. "I'm just going to do it," Adrien said forcefully.

Around the corner, Marinette held her breath in suspense. _I really shouldn't be listening.._ she thought.

"Tonight I'm going to tell my dad I'm gay."

Adrien and Nino heard a thump and whimper from somewhere nearby, like someone dropping something heavy on their foot in surprise, but when they turned the corner, there was no one.

(Marinette was already halfway home, throat full of tears.)

"But dude, I thought you were straight? Or at least, into girls too." Nino went on. "What's the endgame if you ever _do_ bring home a girlfriend?"

"I'm not going to bring anyone home," Adrien said bitterly. "I just want him to stop pressuring me into public affection. Maybe saying I'm gay will make him back off."

…

Later that night, Chat Noir was about to leap from his window for patrol when his baton buzzed.

"Milady?" he answered, thrilled as always to talk to her. "Our usual spot tonight? Or can I finally take you to dinner?"

Ladybug gave a weak chuckle, and Chat Noir knew immediately that something was wrong. "Not tonight, Chat Noir," she said, voice heavy. "I…I'm having a personal thing, and.. I need the night off, if that's ok. Are you ok to patrol alone? If anything goes down, I'll be there, I just.."

"Of course, bugaboo, sorry to hear your _feline_ blue. Can I lend a helping paw?" Chat Noir was clutched with concern for her. Ladybug was all strength and business, and it was devastating to see her undone.

"That's sweet of you Chat, but, I can't—you wouldn't…" her voice cracked, and Chat heard a muffled sob. "B-bye, Chat, thanks," she choked out, then hung up.

...

uh oh, school tomorrow!


	2. Chapter 2

theres gonna be a real balcony scene lord have mercy

xo moobaby

...

Chat Noir paced in his room, his stomach turning with worry. He'd never seen, or rather, heard, his Lady so upset before. She'd never missed a moment of action before either, and except for that first fight against Stone Heart, her confidence had never so much as flickered. This was serious.

But what could he do? _Patrol as usual_ , he told himself, firmly. _That's what Ladybug needs me to do—I can't let her worry about Paris on top of whatever is bothering her._

He leapt from his window and made his rounds, checking for troubles, but all was quiet, too quiet without Ladybug's banter and laughter to keep him company. Despite the suit, he was feeling a lot like Adrien—helpless against the misery of his loved ones.

The light was on in a familiar rooftop apartment, and his heart twinged with hope. _Marinette always has a solution and a smile_ , he thought, but hesitated, catching his breath on a ledge a few buildings away. _Is it really appropriate to drop in?_

Chat Noir leapt closer, trying to think of what to say, when he pulled up short. Marinette was on her balcony, curled up in a chair with a blanket.

"M-Marinette?" he called out, one roof away.

She started and stood up, wiping quickly at her face. "Who-who's there?" she called softly.

Guilt flickered in his stomach. Marinette was upset too! But he couldn't leave now. "Its Chat Noir, may I come over?"

She spotted him and leaned against the balcony, clutching her blanket around her. "Ok," she said, sitting back down in her chair.

Chat Noir landed softly on the balcony, and Ladybug was briefly forgotten as he took in Marinette's tear-stained face and her dejected posture.

"M-Marinette! What's wrong?!"

She shook her head a little. "It's nothing, Chat Noir. Do you need something?" Her voice was small, but she was still Marinette, going out of her way to help people.

"Wait but you—can I? I mean, what's wrong?" Chat Noir couldn't figure out what to do, his feeling of helplessness doubling. He knelt next to her chair, looking up at her.

Marinette wiped her face again and shook her pigtails. "It's..embarrassing, ok? I don't want to talk about it. But why are you here?" She had a good idea why, but scrambled to sound plausibly confused. "Where's Ladybug?"

Chat Noir's ears drooped at that, and he sank down and crossed his legs, his tail limp on the floor. "She took the night off…she sounded really upset but…well, she wouldn't tell me what was wrong either." His shoulders sagged. "She's never missed a day before, and I'm so worried about it because she is so tough, you know? And she won't tell me and I—I just..!" His voice caught in his throat and he buried his face in his hands.

Marinette's heart twinged. Of course she knew that Chat Noir cared for Ladybug, but she hadn't anticipated him being this worried about her. It brought a little warmth back to her, taking up some of the space left by giving up on Adrien as totally unattainable.

Chat Noir dug the palms of his hands into his eyes and clenched his teeth, trying to force back the tears that threatened to escape. Something touched his hair gently, and he relaxed a little, his breath shallow.

Slowly, Marinette sunk her fingers into his hair and petted him a little, and he sighed gratefully, scooching a little closer to lean against her chair. She dug her fingertips in to rub his scalp and a second hand joined, gently running through his hair and around his ears in a soothing pattern.

"I bet Ladybug just needs time," Marinette said, her voice weary. "I think if she was really hurt or in trouble, she would tell you and ask for help."

Chat Noir hadn't considered that. "Y-you think?" he asked, his eyes fluttering from the pleasant petting. It was making him feel a lot better, and a little sleepy.

"She probably needs space to deal with some civilian stuff, and you're doing the right thing by giving her that."

The tension in his shoulders had leaked away, but then he snapped to attention. He took Marinette's hands from his hair and turned to look at her. Her face was drawn and pale.

"What about you, Marinette? Do you need space? I just—I guess I knew you could help, but I—I'd like to help you too. I can go, or-"

"Don't go…yet." Marinette cut him off, a touch of urgency in her voice. She took her hands from his and returned to his hair, staring at it instead of making eye contact. Her lip trembled and her eyes filled again as she played with his cat ears and randomly smoothed his bangs.

"Marinette."

She stopped petting and stared off over Paris. Chat Noir waited, saddened to see her so upset. Marinette was always so positive at school, Adrien figured it took a lot to make her this sad.

She looked at him. "Have you ever had your heart break, Chat?" A tear slipped down her cheek.

He folded her hands into his. "Yes," he said softly. _The morning my mother was gone._ He rested his chin on her knee and took a deep breath.

Marinette sniffed. "Does it ever stop feeling…broken?" Her eyelashes sparkled with tears. Without thinking, she put her hand on his cheek and rubbed with her thumb. His heart leapt from the touch.

"It..you have to…ummm.." Marinette was stroking his hair again, and Chat Noir struggled to form a sentence. Her fingers felt so good on his scalp, and he didn't know how to answer. "Umm…it helps, I mean.." His eyes dropped closed.

A little giggle came from above him and the petting stopped. Chat Noir looked up wildly. Marinette giggled again. "Did you just fall asleep?" A watery smile lit up her face.

Chat Noir blushed. "I don't…it just.. that feels really good, ok?!" He was a little flustered. She giggled again, and he felt a little warmth flare in his stomach.

"You really are a cat," she smiled, touching his black ears gently, then dropping her hands to touch his human ears. He shivered at the gentle touch on his earlobes and she drew her hands back suddenly, her cheeks a little pink as well.

"Uhm, I should get some, uh, sleep, Chat Noir, and you should too," she said, her voice a little loud. "I think Ladybug will be fine and you are doing the right thing." She stood up and pulled the blanket over her shoulders like a shawl, crossing quickly to pull open her trap door. "Thanks for, uhh, listening."

Chat Noir stood up quickly too, running a hand through his hair. "No, thank you, Marinette, I—I think you're right and…" He trailed off, looking her in the eyes. "I hope—I hope you feel better. You're very.." he scuffed his boot on the ground. "You're a very strong person."

He stepped toward her and she started a little. "Can I, um.. hug you?" he asked, worried that he'd crossed a line.

Marinette's shoulders relaxed and she nodded, stepping forward into his open arms. They hugged tight, and both felt warm and safe there, and comforted. With a deep breath, they let go.

"Th-thanks, Chat Noir." She looked up at him and smiled a little, her blue eyes shining from leftover tears.

"Thank you, Marinette." Chat Noir gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, and then turned and leapt back onto the railing. "Goodnight," he said, taking a last look at her, before jumping into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

and i'm back.. so many stories, so little time, right? i feel like chapter 2 is eerily similar to S2 ep9..?

any hoo, enjoy!

xoxo moonbaby

...

Marinette jumped down to her bed and smiled to herself.

 _That silly cat_ , she thought affectionately. He'd really made her feel better.

She looked around at the pictures of Adrien on her walls and sighed. Her mouth set in determination, Marinette pulled them all down, one after the other, carefully peeling away the tape and dropping the magazine pages onto the floor.

There was still an ache in her chest as she gathered them up and dropped them into her recycling bin. His handsome face stared up at her.

Tikki watched quietly, letting Marinette do what she needed to do.

"I guess it makes sense, hunh Tikki?" Marinette mused, sorting through her inspiration folder for pictures to hang up where Adrien's pictures had been. "He's always been so polite, but not interested in any girls…"

"I guess so," Tikki said, chewing a cookie thoughtfully. She had her own suspicions about Adrien.

Marinette sighed. "I hope things are ok with his dad. It must be so hard to come out!" She gasped with an idea. "I should bring him something tomorrow, to make sure he feels loved."

With a new mission, Marinette was starting to feel like herself again. "Maybe this is for the best, Tikki. Maybe now we can be good friends."

She got into bed and snuggled down, yawning. "Maybe I'll save a cookie for Chat Noir, too…"

…

Alya couldn't believe it when Marinette walked into class 5 minutes early, instead of 30 seconds late.

"Hey girl!"

Marinette had a smile on her face and a pastry box under her arm. Adrien was glad to see her doing so much better than the night before.

"Good Morning, Marinette," he said warmly. Alya waited for the flustered meltdown to begin, ready to intervene, but was surprised again.

"Good Morning, Adrien," Marinette said brightly. She put the bakery box down on his desk. "I brought some pastries for us, help yourself."

Adrien's eyes were wide. "Really?" He opened the box and his face lit up at the warm pastries nestled carefully inside. Marinette laughed a little and slid into her chair with ease. "I thought you might like the pistachio ones. And I brought chocolate for you, Al."

"Whoahh, baked goods!" Nino came into the classroom, pulling off his headphones. "Thanks Mari!"

Adrien bit into a pastry and his eyes closed with pleasure. He turned around in his seat. "Marinette, these are amazing! Thank you so much," he said emphatically.

Marinette shrugged and smiled. "It's no problem, Adrien, but I'll tell my parents how much you like them."

Nino's mouth dropped open. He and Alya exchanged confused glances.

"Oh, Adrien," Marinette said remembering something as she pulled out her sketchbook.

"Yes?" She didn't usually talk to him this much, and it was a nice change.

"I wanted your opinion on one of my designs. Uhmm….here we go, this one." She showed him the dress she'd been working on. "Is the ruching too much?"

Adrien looked at her for a moment before dropping his eyes to the sketch. "Hmm, pretty," he said, choosing his words. "I think that…either the ruching or the ruffled bottom would be good, but not both?"

Marinette took the book back and looked, chewing her lip. "You know, I think you're right." She touched his arm and smiled at him. "Thank you so much, Adrien."

"Uhh, sure, anytime," he said. His arm tingled a little where her fingers touched him.

Alya and Nino gaped at this exchange, but before anymore could be said, Madame Bustier came in to begin class. Adrien turned around to put the pastries between him and Nino and faced forward again, leaving Marinette with a small smile as she calmly pulled out her books.

Alya leaned over to whisper. "Uhm, who are you and what did you do with my best friend?"

"What, he has good taste!" Marinette whispered back, pointedly avoiding Alya's eyes. _It's not my secret to tell_ , she thought to herself, happy that Adrien seemed to be doing just fine.

Meanwhile, Adrien had a smile on his face too. _Glad to see you happy, Princess_.

...

can you say crush reversal?


End file.
